LONG BEACH — A Long Beach (710) Freeway expansion plan that addresses noise, pollution, safety, congestion and port expansion was approved by a City Council committee Wednesday following more than a year of revisions.

The plan is significantly different from the proposal first introduced by Caltrans early last year, which called for the destruction of more than 300 homes situated along the 18-mile, truck-clogged freeway.

The new proposal, crafted through dozens of community meetings, avoids taking homes in Long Beach and significantly reduces the physical impact of freeway expansion on the city.

"These were issues that were not only brick-and-mortar issues, but quality-of-life issues that will be affecting us 10 or 15 years from now," said 8th District Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga, who oversees the I-710 Oversight Committee, which includes council members Bonnie Lowenthal and Val Lerch. Caltrans and port officials have said 710 expansion is needed to help mitigate the expected tripling of volume at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles in coming years. Together, the ports are the busiest point of entry in the nation and the third-largest port complex in the world.

The plan approved Wednesday seeks to significantly reduce the effects of increased pollution, noise and congestion that the expansion may have on the city.

Specifically, it calls for increasing the use of alternative fuels by trucks using the freeway to haul goods in and out of the port as well as reducing diesel emissions from cargo ships in the port.

The plan also recommends limiting port expansion and financially compensating property owners affected by freeway expansion.

Despite the changes, the plan still doesn't please everyone, as Long Beach resident (and Long Beach Greens member) Regina Taylor noted.

"To even suggest that this is something that everybody agrees on, I just don't feel that's so," Taylor said at Wednesday's forum. "You're talking about adding eight or 10 lanes to the freeway. I just can't imagine that."

The proposal goes before the full City Council for approval at Tuesday's meeting, which begins at 5 p.m. at City Hall, 333 W. Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach.

If approved, it will be brought forth for discussions with other cities affected by the project, which include Compton, Lynwood, South Gate, Paramount, Cudahy and Bell.

Construction on the 710 project isn't expected to begin for at least 10 years.